College Park, Md. - Electronic voting technology, especially touch screen systems, easily pass the tests of voter confidence and satisfaction, but users still make too many mistakes and ask too often for help, says a major new study led by the University of Maryland and conducted with the University of Rochester and the University of Michigan.

In the United States, touch-screen voting machines are more and more becoming the norm. While this new technology enables election officials to quickly tally the vote and determine the winners on Election Day, VOA's Jeffrey Young reports that it has also brought new problems that some observers say could erode public confidence in the election process.

A review of software source code led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has found security holes that would leave electronic voting machines vulnerable to attack.

Two University of California, Berkeley, researchers are among the four authors of a report released today (Wednesday, Aug. 1) that recommends more targeted and rigorous audits of paper records produced by electronic voting machines.

Flaws that leave electronic voting machines vulnerable to security attacks were discovered by University of California researchers as part of an unprecedented "Top-to-Bottom Review" of the systems commissioned by California Secretary of State Debra Bowen.